Choose954 Podcast Ep 16 W/ Michael Madfis

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2KvqSo-UW0&list=PLOQvdw7d0cd9RZZkd2lZy2hmrnJv-cfLI&index=84

Host:so we are back here on the choose nine five four podcast with local architect urban farmer overall big guy and now tour operator Michael Memphis

Michael:thank you very much for joining us actually appreciated for those you that aren't aware of she identified for what we're doing here we started a social movement to cultivate culture community here our Academy where I'm from and in effort to bring people together of our shared passion keep people in know with all the great things that are going on between the arts food music and overall culture in an effort to make this a better place to live and not just going to fix the vacation so the point of the podcast is to connect you career people like Michael they're doing amazing things throughout the town so they can find out about new things like a story thank you so once you start off my conga set at a high level a little bit about yourself in your background

Michael:okay a lot to say this new 61 years old I came from Boston Massachusetts on moved here in 1984 actually first lived here North Miami for a few years and Fort Lauderdale and I was addicted as an architect in Boston at the Boston Architectural College worked there for number eight years just before moving here and then sort of Miami commercial practice in 1998 a few years after I worked for a firm locally and raise a family and by 2010 we have never owned larger architectural firms in Philadelphia the staff of 15 architects must support or join a lot of commercial industrial work we did some planning and development from South Miami all the way to Palm Beach I also been working the Bahamas and across the United States so I had a full architectural practice and at the end of 2010 we had been through the recession a big chunk of recession so covers Andrea know we downsize the farm and I had some changing relationship with my wife and my children had moved on to college and I thought it might be a great time to experiment with a different approach and I looked at sustainability become a sustainable architect in 2007 I became certified and I had practiced in that way wheel since the start of my business he's I remember of the recession many other parts of China and so that became a big part of our practice with always environmental sustainability but by 2010 I was looking at it decided you know it wasn't work and what are the fundamental issues with it I saw the opportunity to transition from my formal practice of architecture to its pointing out those two go together and we're going to get into that a little bit I haven't had an architect on for what or how did you get inside so creative painting sculpture I think reading and drawing I enjoyed and then it also is involving mechanics I love physics and I was designing bicycles squash racquet from the carbon fiber to do some fun things community value and so I said well can we do mechanically that's creative and artistic in architecture many design industrial design but architecture my friend's father was an architect and I saw in its practice in its life style architecture Boston third-generation so that's really mine

Host:was my inspiration and so why do you feel that it's not only important to you but why is it to innocence that's simply the city Fort Lauderdale why it sucked

Michael:yeah well all great cities have great architecture it's not the only thing that they have they can also have beautiful climate and beautiful environment and natural conditions and so forth but you know the architecture tells the story of the most dramatic piece of art from reword Gloria's paintings of the revolution in Spain and they were just they told a powerful story our attention can really do the same thing and it doesn't necessarily even have to be what we consider be beautiful well worth architecture because it's the experiences to not just a product in these stories of create value has been proven that storage room doll you into products and those bonuses so great cities have great architecture they leads to the great stories reinforces that and creates a sense of place where the stories take place you can connect to them they have characters that share those connections to those experiences builds civic pride and value is here overall and not just for residents but for people who come to visit you know maybe the only reason they come to visit and as we were discussing in my travels to Chicago and probably many people's travels in Chicago you take the thing both architecture tours and as I mentioned it gave me a new appreciation for the city and our texture overall so with that said what is the why between why you star behind wife started our next report

Michael:so that's it Grace's eased up great architecture they have great course the tourism veil the stories the stories are there they don't need to be created they're just full on a lot of the stories almost did you know they come to discover it ever been shared you know that may be shared within you know certain partial community people have been here a long time discover them through whatever means may be as hard at it for me that side a desiccated land and Platts previous instruction and I was here at a time really transition and I'm gonna solve it but then you know the question was well how did this end up the way it is no Andrew Sadek with well building five and and not you know fully utilized and I realize well I'm 95 can be cut off from the airport used to be mainstream brewed on to Galleria and you know now it's the accountable so all that story you know answers a lot of questions and makes people feel comfortable and then it's also just you know there's been touched on much of the history that comes from that but these are the elements that have to be uncovered they're the total story in that that's what will make our city great can create a sense of place and connection

Host:not to give away too much to the tour obviously but what are some hidden gems that folks might not know recognized or appreciated

Michael:so you know great architecture has great stories so a lot of these we know a place is like Stranahan house Frank and I are astraying and conservative the founders of a lot of their pioneering first primary families and that story about is what makes that piece of architecture valuable significant yes it's a beautiful new home and was their trading post in years and have some great by mental features of high windows allow air to come in without bringing in and Eschete oh it's because they don't fly so high you know there's elements of that that you don't see and modern structures that can be very very beneficial and then buildings like bond house Museum and garlic I began a character family well to stick and lived you know an interesting lifestyle this is endless stories about that and you go visit those places you will learn those stories and you'll have those memories and you'll have that sense of place they can actually do the river the connection to the to the slough at the Stranahan house I'm having my house and they are and remember people that chain there so those are things that are significant elements of architecture in Florida other ones that may be the secrets or someone on bail that still have a lot to be told their buildings like beyond federal courthouse on Third Avenue to me that's one of the greatest pieces of architecture but it's overlooked first of all it's dysfunctional right now the water fountain isn't working yet that one fountain represented the the swamp in those large columns that support that huge concrete camping represent the cypress trees and Micanopy himself is represented by the concrete cap on top and the atmosphere in there or during a hot day is 10 to 15 degrees cooler as it would be the amount of cypress swamp yeah if you look in there closely which love it going walking that what you do there's a bunch of places that are like human scale you sit down close to that water when I was active it was moving it created a little bit of a noise over there calm right in the middle of the city so they handed beautiful natural features yes it was a public building that maybe maybe wouldn't have any purpose to be there hopefully so they're never good administrative resources and yet no one quote got the story of how to use it and enjoy it you know we have little rallies there burn for that and you should be like that anybody go in the city of Awesome maybe the sometimes large people there after the Celtics won championship but I same time when there's only other people there and they're spread out over three acres they still find cozy little places to be which is very similar and small-scale I like big photo forest another great building also done that way in longer this isn't a library yeah which has two features the inside and outside of that yeah yeah a lot of movement there's a lot of moccasins views you can't dissipate things you can feel very comfortable in there and this is true a million of great libraries around the world but they took those things and put them into the right modern ability see it that way they use beautiful coral stone on the south and west sides and Croton is very porous and critical mass to it will not hold heat very long and those are the hot side to the going and you'll notice if we go to recess that kind a lot of shade squeaking so they took a lot of time whatever we use natural local materials again just like he did on the other side there's a reference to local environment and there's glass to the north which forgetting libraries and offices so that so we and the the issue is that bullying incorporates a lot of environmental elements very much a people place so those are the things that I find significant the way to say this story of some buildings a little less not all of those the Stranahan house the Bonnet house and downtown main library she haven't been pretty much all tour worthy war works of art and obviously very significant to the city so definitely encourage anybody haven't been even to the downtown main library now they have a courtroom space the Creation Station and 3d printer that you can use a lot of great classes and workshops a lot of great activations so I definitely encourage you to check out all of those shout out to April Turk in the Strand a house and all the great work that she does over there

Host:sending away from architecture the way that we met initially probably two years ago was at the Las Olas farmers market no longer there but we are working bringing back how and why did you get into farming and choose the work as an urban problem

Michael:so it was a natural transition as I was saying at the end of describing they don't just identify being an architect I'm a great father overall I gonna do an apartment as a natural transition again from the architectural feel especially at a time in the economy you know we have been gone after a lot of work and the work that was available was mostly good municipalities we didn't have a lot of experience with that and it was getting expensive continuing that direction so we you know environmental sustainability was supposed to ated about with the economy I think a lot of people were you know how do we minimize these dramatic failures and so we really have a risk the waste involving the system and with food I recognized you know as an architect and planner I would be aware of transportation systems and food relies heavily on transportation and as it turns out a 90 percent of the cost of food was related to transportation the associated refrigeration storage that's required again I was not even taking on a big name Aviles Marchand does their work which related to warehousing understood these con no you look delivery and it gets delivered a beautiful Sumatra markets not cheap now they're born and all the squirrels love to build with the church not to bother II think about the energy I need it and I could squirt water on everything as it did to me so we have found about seven years creating all these different models and to develop google method we used the county create vocational opportunities and system architectures connection not to the community you know to education and it's you know it's covering members of the farm the final you know it became a steward of the environment and and see member of the community so was excited and we got a mom to work here and we work with I was an authority we did about three private or private found ourselves doing some commercial farms they're still operational now they've been taken over by others and and then you know the handful of other people that's decided to kind of long and do their own thing and we're all excited that they did pretty successful of those as well so and then the tourists came from there it's

Host:it's unfortunate because where I live in Camden Las Olas prior federal you know there really isn't a supermarket within walking distance or lucky Brian here

Michael:right you can yeah right literally and you know one of the things that I really missed about the law school Sunday market was the fact that I could walk my dog get a smoothie get my produce get a few things for the week build relationships with the farmers Judith Oh is there yeah and she's still around yeah she's working on great Chris Rohan correct

Host:can you tell them more

Michael:Chris rollers on northie six-six northwest 6 now and just north of brown or boulevard and sell it second Street there's a fire station over there and there's also the kind of touching I would have for Humanity ReStore was there as well he said he didn't betray us too so they're looking for a great urban farm ability he had the same technique as we have any doubt it's very very focused on his work and doing what's the key surviving all the lines and then take the food to the variety markets including Las Olas and she always a great selection and so she's joined Kevin over there and they could do source from some other local farms as well so every Friday and another one I would mention if you're looking for enough urban farmer farmer produce in chalk local our local the urban farming Institute another great place and awesomer and oh and also of course if you don't know I still identify for a little bit further south I mean era it seems like people are falling in love more more with the over yeah gracious and then I feel like you know maybe you've got a little bit down in terms of local impression all that today I think it's becoming I've seen one more people post on social media like a trip like you know oh yeah I don't really resolve as I would like my mind to go

Host:they really have there is a picture recently of want to say Gordon Ramsay for shopping there and if you haven't been there's a great amazing thing Gemma shot shofar oh yeah oh [ __ ] well she's been a function together and yeah they they bought food not listen we not very sweet people may be caring and the quality is bigger marijuana I like 

Michael:[Music] so if you haven't been once again yellow green farmers market only open up a weekend right now Sheridan and 95 random farms Chris wall farms urban farming Institute any other friends who or people you want to mention

Host:I think tomorrow they're like yeah well you know what we might actually add a section to the cheese metaphor website but bring max together about local restaurants go support local coffee shops so I want to make a note to add add local farms

Michael:with that said what are back to the design piece and I know what to talk about this forever on you're expected to your time what are your inspirations for your design so I love you know there's a broad term I guess for the love innovation and so you know you know there's another thing my first that started computers were coming out and I was you know sorting all this really just modernized all my clients into taking the same computer he started with us that we just keep producing it be easy I said if we got that for a few minutes but innovation doesn't necessary they could be taking a look at something old and seeing that they apply really well again today and you know long in innovation in the fifties and forties fifties and sixties was too cool a building by adding air-conditioning putting insulated windows providing window blinds or shades that could block out the heat some other things too that I in the olden days we would have a large loop over and create a colony or Miranda that half enclosed space the light reduce the heat from that as well as collect breezes that would keep the perimeter of the building cool hmm and never really considered all that but of course you know the overhang is taking a little more space you want to compact our buildings it might appear comfortable money but of course when we look at life cycle costing they may actually save my right as an energy required through but they could be even worse than until build initially so run bringing the cost of the product up higher the developer may feel they're out of a shoe when they start offering those features may have a hard time selling these value ideas and I think that's a lot of them just gave up it's a shame because I think those people can appreciate that stuff and now where you get to come back and be innovative by reintroducing whatever another you know there was a house existing on 16th Street down by you I hate and they even very little I've married over there you know if a search came through eventually evacuate you know their house to be gone so one of the things he lived out on the house of the different things and I said you know what could create these concrete renders we build around front of the hall that accommodates on them and they basically were built to her no surgery no protection standards and they're not that lately billion whole house but you're building rebuilding the prune or not having some additional space even around of course with your mom now you can even create space on the roof of the stairway up or whatever you want it is you out on the ocean and this is this investment is actually not paid back because it's going to reduce the exposure and possible loss of your home anybody insurance company

Host:yeah I was just thinking that yeah because time you got this thing I thought just be a cop I hope he's like you know a brand of those deals because they're love that will be putting their because but these are informations that are really going back to old ideas and so I love that so I call it innovative design for architects serve people in from providing Buster for they work a lot with you know concrete form and geometries are sacred geometries very supportive naturally and soul of inspiration

Host:and what that said what is the importance and significance of environmental sustainable design

Michael:well there were two different things in my mind that's a design to me is the essence of architecture beginning of architecture is art in our relationship to the bill form but it has the beginning in architecture you know you think about manners around his head it's getting cold out you know I got I still have the science on a cold winter in our so I'm going to build a solid wall you know face down north side and then just elections assignment because I give them more and that's we're leaving to the buyer and they buy line that you know along seasonally and shift and they just for that as well a ring that catches the Sun but it's too hot but this is done and it's cool and so that's environmental design we can use that to do everything earlier about creating these parameters so we don't have to use the mechanics of air conditioning always to cool yeah we still need the air conditioner actually back up all the time if we can have use environmental compliance that responding to the context sustainable design in my mind you know if it came out over fear of losing it anywhere so we a doctrine of protocol for what is sustainable on that basis you know by not creating anything anything except that it would limit the possibilities of the future and you know we're not messing things up so that our children are going to have trouble on the future and if we can set that up that's called sustainability so it's not burning fossil fuels so the you know climate changes and then our children even have you know sea level rise issues so it's going to carbon neutral and the fossil fuel sitting up solar wind other methods of creating energy and these are mechanical and they have impact just to treat themselves you don't just get it I saw the most youth propeller things being the livery of you know today I chuckle sighs this thing you know there was a lot of material in America extracted out of the earth and that of the public heated up or German shaved and she so just think about the carbon footprint just a great man and this hundreds of those things so I don't know the solution but that's what I think sustainability if you're trying to it's trying to find a way to become neutral and operation but Jennifer you know all these gadgets that will do that for us you know you know as a farmer I was a big fan of gasification which is basically composting and you do under control environment even with heat you get kind of joy and nothing and you don't get a carving out of building atmosphere and then you get a solid which is charcoal and that can be used at four or five with soil and capture carbon yeah so this is been on since after World War two no millions of cars Europe gasifiers and audial isn't available left right after the water and the two things you know were to operate the cars and probably have a lot of current waste you know they'd be converted to charcoal high energy so we don't do that we do these you know solid waste incinerators to energy that just create ash and we have to bury charcoal and carbon here let me scrub out of the scrubber

Host:maybe think of one last thing I wanted to ask you and it's interesting we talk about innovation and farming and our particular interest was in Israel and audience I piss on the floor of a salad trail which is gentlemen hurry along I created drip irrigation yeah and they're creating you know they produce in the desert and it was ben-gurion his dream for Israel wouldn't in terms of innovation and to two parts one the came to mind what do you think about green roofs and to what is something that somebody listening can Institute fairly easily is it a live effect and be a little bit more seen in any or materials

Michael:[Music] you know almost like the dark things he knows they're fun and innovative so there's almost but they may very cruel because the earth and they can also have the exposure of glass that can walk more than needed so those are considered environmentally other one might be considered sustainable sure and the other where I've seen it but I have seen them problem more online and in reality but they seem so understanding music

Michael:[Music] room sure maybe that the next phase of your hair career and I should we can look at that what's one thing that somebody listening couldn't

Host:yeah so this is I love that beautiful thing oil so if we live in an area where really a lot of our soil has been turned over and developed and you know we build in having butts little sequester's current and it also retains a stormwater or any water runoff and these are issues that we deal with all the time so the one simple thing we can do is compost and cultivate the soil where we are and if everybody in the world stopped and did that again I was a personally fine moving on a yard and I say totally slow now plant some plants in the garden make sure the soil is rich and maintained without chemicals you know use a compost which is the waste from your home it doesn't make the common to your whole yard if you do a second and then maybe the expanded and expanded expanded or more how people keep doing it I really think that's a significant fact I'm so damaged totally easy to do it's also fun and I can be healing and therapeutic it connects us back to nature you need to remember that we are nurtured by mother earth all the nutrition in the world comes from our soil unity not don't need a plant ever what did they become I'll have to eat that you eat it it's going to eat some plants so it always starts with our soil and if we can such a basic simple thing we can do

Michael:yeah and my friends go farm I'm gonna bring you some soil mom and dad so a few things to mention as always herds the end of the podcast here coming we're gonna tie them all together we have a new monthly breakfast lecture series that talk about creative Zen it's you say it's for the creative community everyone's warm everyone's creative we do them the second Friday morning of the month every month at a different venue this month upcoming we have to be Jacobs who's a well-known author TEDx and South by Southwest speaker she's gonna be speaking to us at ride element which is a new cycle shop spinning type of you know workout garment beautiful brand new over and Oakland Park right at Oakland Park City Hall that's gonna be on tour the 14th the doors open to date 32 top starts at 9 and we're always out of there by 10 a.m. free event coffee breakfast networking and just another way to bring people together and inspire our local community one Friday morning a month that's a F freedoms then finally I'll choose that five for this Sunday we have the next installment of one of my favorite music events of the month so far sevens beautiful songs from room experience very intimate you have to request access or being invited it's not an open event it really is to reward music fans and it's a really great experience it's one a four hundred chapters across the globe that we have here in Fort Lauderdale this is going to be another great show this you look up so far sounds subscribe to their newsletter so you can get notifications when the next shows take place and choose that backwards glad and very proud to be media sponsoring partner I'm so far sounds I'll get the word out this is we already invented stories well it worked out worse I want to get the word out about this great things we also would like to get the word out speaking about math restores this Saturday is going to be the month in Fort Lauderdale our walk if you haven't been our walk-in down south laurel and 500 villages my favorite community event of the month probably our greatest community event of the month it's one of the my times at four or five thousand people come together over the arc over the community I always like to say for people that might not be familiar the gallery sale in late warehouses have activations installations in them there's food trucks by Bart bye music local vendors president Armstrong from Broward College's gonna bring out his 1964 classic car for a photo booth at see nice videos you just told me so definitely make sure you check that out and then if you're out put our walk at same time you can catch the twirl

Host:yeah 5:30 to 7:30 and give us just a little bit of a quick little overview

Michael:so the tour round will start Peter Fountain Park and I had down south on Third Avenue and then loop to the west to image avenues of walk up to her and then go north on who's back out toward the mass district where we'll finish up so people can connect with the Art Walk at that time what the time you start by finishing at 5:30 but they're usually posted we're gonna really try to keep it for to just a little more than an hour either way so the two are over there and in the beautiful the park is on six 16:13 northeast they're down with northeast six feet off another system as well and you can find free parking at in mass district which is behind Sears on Feb 1 sunrise right on 4th they are where the hive is with Lynch and juice bar and the water shops open so there's two three parking lots they are behind Cedars sunrise did you just walk over couple blocks in the tour will take you back the mastership we take them into the Art Walk that's the idea of a loop is that if you did wanna park at the area just referred to in the art district there and you'll end up there when you take the toy

Host:beautiful and one other tour that were very excited about that's going to take place during the recently launched Fort Lauderdale Art and Design Week that my partner mr. Andrew Martin oh and I have created around the same piece of art for Mondale is we are working with the AIA again the architects Association local chapter and they are going to be creating as part of for a lot of our design meet and architectural biannual focusing let's see a little rest also doubling as their awards and design showcase so this is going to take place between the week of January 19 through the 27th and during that week they're going to be doing in architectural tour for Fort Lauderdale during that week it's also the Art Walk so Mike will be giving a tour on architecture we're going to look to loop those up if you have a cultural institution or gallery studio or anything in Fort Lauderdale related to arts and culture that you would like to be part of Fort Lauderdale Art and Design Week please feel free to reach out to us from how this middle form that's going to be on the website launching soon we want to activate the entire city with arts and culture and create civic pride and connect not only our local community with the local people doing great the community around our culture but also the source of this there is a life this is a really great thing and also if you happen to not be familiar with Lauderdale and appreciate architecture in homes we created the first Art Fair in the world that takes place in private mansions off of the LOS Muslims across the waterways only just live via boats with the use of water taxis many times when you're on the water taxi they tell you this is so in those houses and so on so it's house you never get to go into those houses well during our Fort Lauderdale you do and we actually curate the pumps in a four-day our third format where the art is distributed all throughout the home so that is the art fair in the water that takes place January 24 through 27 that's part of Fort Lauderdale Art and Design Week which is produced by the same great folks a partner tomorrow and myself that produce choose metaphor and all these great things that we're doing throughout the community just as another way to elevate their arts and culture bring people together my pleasure thank you and really just make this a better place to live and not just a better place to vacation we all know it's really the kitchen we live here too and our community really deserves to have things like this so you can stay tuned to choose nine five four on social media we also have a newsletter it's not spamming a promise it goes out every Tuesday morning if you have any questions on arts and culture anything in filardo community related don't reach out to me if you have any questions about tour its architecture urban farming or Austin you can reach out to mr. Memphis here and I really appreciate you joining us today

Michael:this is really a very inefficient and yeah I look forward to seeing you guys on the tour well that's a little picture given but someone else will pitch this one thing aura plug the village room let's use their space here and their business business sweetie yeah another new addition to for Largo